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RATTLING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
Example:
the death rattle
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("rattling" is a kind of...):
noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rattling"):
crepitation rale (the crackling sound heard on auscultation when patients with respiratory diseases inhale; associated with tuberculosis and pneumonia and congestive heart failure)
Derivation:
rattle (shake and cause to make a rattling noise)
rattle (make short successive sounds)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Quick and energetic
Example:
a spanking breeze
Synonyms:
alert; brisk; lively; merry; rattling; snappy; spanking; zippy
Classified under:
Similar:
energetic (possessing or exerting or displaying energy)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
Example:
a tremendous achievement
Synonyms:
fantastic; grand; howling; marvellous; marvelous; rattling; terrific; tremendous; wonderful; wondrous
Classified under:
Similar:
extraordinary (beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb rattle
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Used as intensifiers; 'real' is sometimes used informally for 'really'; 'rattling' is informal
Example:
a rattling good yarn
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Context examples:
An instant later, with a scratching, rattling sound, a most horrible and loathsome creature appeared from below and perched itself upon the side of the case.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
There was a crowd about it all day long, and the tenders were constantly flying to and fro with important faces and rattling money boxes.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
A minute later we were all seated in a comfortable landau, and were rattling through the quaint old Devonshire city.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
At the same instant the huge portcullis came rattling down from above, and shut off the last fading light of day.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Faster and faster yet they raced, the hoofs rattling like castanets, the yellow manes flying, the wheels buzzing, and every joint and rivet creaking and groaning, while the curricle swung and swayed until I found myself clutching to the side-rail.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He helped the process with his fingers, working loose small ice-chunks that fell rattling to the floor.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
From the side of the hill, which was here steep and stony, a spout of gravel was dislodged and fell rattling and bounding through the trees.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
As we approached it I heard the sharp rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animal moving about.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
With the bag slung over her arm, and rattling as she waddled away, she waddled to the door, where she stopped to inquire if she should leave us a lock of her hair.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
